Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
No Fear of Bad News: Finding Strength in Life's Challenges
What do you do when disaster strikes? In today's episode, we explore Thomas Edison's remarkable response to catastrophe when a spectacular fire destroyed over half his laboratory complex in 1914. Rather than mourning his losses, he gathered his employees the next morning and declared, "We're rebuilding." His perspective? "Thank goodness, our mistakes are burned up. Now we can start again fresh."
What would it look like if we could face our worst circumstances with unwavering faith? I share the incredible testimony of a woman diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer who, instead of surrendering to fear, surrounded herself with God's promises. Thirty years later, she remained cancer-free—a living testament to the power of standing on God's Word when faced with seemingly impossible situations.
Our God isn't a God of fear but of peace and strength. All He asks is that we trust Him rather than allowing fear to carry us away. Whether you're facing disappointment, loss, illness, or uncertainty today, this five-minute episode offers perspective that can transform how you view your challenges. Grab your coffee and join me for a moment of encouragement that will help you start your day by Starting Right.
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right. I am Danny Mac and I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back and relax for the next five minutes as I help you start your day by starting right. Well, good morning and welcome to Monday Today I would like to tell you a story about Thomas Edison. He had a large laboratory and complex in West Orange, new Jersey. Laboratory and complex in West Orange, new Jersey.
Speaker 1:But on December 9, 1914, a spectacular fire destroyed over half of his buildings. After an explosion in the film inspection building. The New York Times said that damages were worth over $7 million and only $2 million of that would be covered by insurance. When the fire broke out, edison's son, charles, went looking for him and he couldn't find his father. When he looked up and saw his dad rushing towards him, shouting where's mom? Go get her. Tell her to get her friends, they'll never see a fire like this again. Edison was actually looking forward to watching the fire Early the next morning. The fire is still smoldering in the background.
Speaker 1:Edison called the employees back together and he said we're rebuilding. One man was told to lease all the machinery shops in the area, another to get a wrecking crane from the Erie Railroad Company. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added oh, and, by the way, anybody know where you can get some money. Later on, in a conversation with some journalists, he said you can always make capital out of disaster. We've just cleared a bunch of old rubbish and we'll build bigger and better on these ruins. Thank goodness, our mistakes are burned up. Now we can start again fresh. What an amazing attitude. One of the greatest minds and inventors of the time who just lost half of everything he had and had nowhere near enough money to replace it. But he still said look, we just burned up all our mistakes, now we can do something better. There have been several times in my life where I would have loved to have had Edison's attitude. There go my mistakes, they're behind me. Okay, let's move on. My mistakes tend to linger, they tend to hang on to me more than they should. Yet Edison displayed the kind of attitude I think that God wants us to show in our lives. I'm not sure about Thomas Edison's view of God, but he certainly displayed an attitude that God would have approved of in this situation. He looked ahead and said let's get going, guys. We got more to do.
Speaker 1:Psalm 112 is talking about those that love God and serve Him. In verse 7, it says they will have no fear of bad news. Their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Imagine being able to be that consistent, to be that persistent in our faith that, if and when bad news comes, we are not shaken, we're not rattled, we're not knocked down when all of a sudden, the income disappears, when all of a sudden, a loved one is gone. There's a report from the doctor that is terrifying. Imagine being in the place where you have no fear of the bad news and you can rise up and say I will go forward.
Speaker 1:There's the story of a woman who received a report from the doctor who told her she had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She had less than four months to live. But instead of being in fear, she looked into the Bible and wrote down all the promises of God about healing, about strength, about direction, of God's love and God's care. She wrote them down on cards and put them around her house and for the next four months, she began to read those verses out loud every day. Then, for the four months after that she read those verses out loud every day. For the four months after that, she read those verses out loud every day. She continued to read those verses and stand on what God's Word is and not allow herself to be overwhelmed with fear, but to be filled with the hope that there is in Jesus Christ. Now, today, some 30 years later, she is still going strong and she is cancer-free.
Speaker 1:Our God is not a God of fear. Our God is a God of peace and strength. When something bad happens, god is still with you. When something really horrible happens, he's with you even more. He's there to throw His arms around you and surround you with His love, his goodness and His care, and to hold you and to carry you through the challenge that you are facing. All he asks of us is that we trust him, that we put our faith in him and that we let him carry us in the direction he wants to go, and we don't let fear carry us away from him. Have a great day, my friends. We'll talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday, right here on, starting Right with Danny Mac.
